Tape libraries have historically been the primary storage devices for amassed digital data. This has been due in part because of the tape libraries' ability to store considerably large amounts of data in a cost-efficient and data-stable manner. Other types of storage systems containing alternative media such as disc drives, optical storage systems and flash memory, however, are gaining momentum as a consequence of advancements in random access storage technology and relative cost improvements. These alternative storage systems take advantage of random access memory storage functionality which can dramatically speed up data transfer between a host and storage system.
Nonetheless, the benefit of random access memory storage has a cost in terms of reliability of data integrity. For example, disc drives are subject to data loss over time due in part to thermal degradation, an issue of growing concern given the aggressive a real density curve the disc drive industry is tracking. In order to increase a real density, data bit sizes are typically reduced, creating a greater probability for instabilities in the data bits which translates to data loss. Hence, in time, all digital data stored on magnetic media will vanish due to ‘self erasure’ of the data bits.
The disc drive industry has proposed some solutions to this problem by improving the media stability with complex magnetic alloys and constant data refresh during times in which the disc drives are not storing data on the media. However, in applications in which disc drives are not supplied with frequent or constant power, such as to archive a disc drive for later use, data loss is inevitable.
In an effort to improve data robustness in mobile random access storage devices, both methods and apparatus are described herein. It is to innovations related to this subject matter that the claimed invention is generally directed.